Patrick Ibens Interview - "People always find a way around the system."

Ibens retired from judging following the Olympics, but still pays attention to
the sport. I asked him about some of the newer rules that the International
Skating Union has implemented this season, as well as a new set of questions
about the judging itself and the problems that may still occur.

nice blog, good interview. If judges don't know what is best for changes etc then Goodness help the rest of us. I have simply decided to watch those I like and ignore those I don't. I seem to agree with many but not all podium placements. 4th -7th is preftty dicey. It's too bad France has no really good single ladies. She surely would have been on the podium. Berenice is not my style of skater. Without Carolina, Europe (not Russia) has no star. But I agree-this is a system as easily manipulated as in the past-just much more complicated, and thus not good for fan base building. Oh, well.

I think he might have been one of the two that gave plushenko a 5 in transitions in Vancouver! He got two fives and maybe one of them didn't count but him getting two fives is on record. I think that had he got all fives in Torino he still would have won but it was horrible for him in Vancouver! So did the prevailing thoughts on goe deriving from transitions.

If the rule that said a gpf medalist could go to worlds was made an isu rule nationals would mean less I think.

I think he might have been one of the two that gave plushenko a 5 in transitions in Vancouver! He got two fives and maybe one of them didn't count but him getting two fives is on record. I think that had he got all fives in Torino he still would have won but it was horrible for him in Vancouver! So did the prevailing thoughts on goe deriving from transitions.

If the rule that said a gpf medalist could go to worlds was made an isu rule nationals would mean less I think.

There are no proves that he gave Plushenko a 5 in transitions, but he certainly said that Plushenko was "blonde" (no, not the opposite of brunette, the other meaning ).

There are no proves that he gave Plushenko a 5 in transitions, but he certainly said that Plushenko was "blonde" (no, not the opposite of brunette, the other meaning ).

Just curious, is he a blonde also :P

I actually think Mr. Iben is kind of cool, I love it when people are straight forward, have independent thought and unafraid to declare something with the full credit and knowledge to back it up. After all, that is the definition of being a judge. Why do you think Simon Cowell is so popular in this day and age of political correctness? If only more judges are straightforward like him and open themselves like that.

I remember once I have also suggest the idea that the PCS should be awarded by a separate panel like just Patrick expressed at his first interview, that for subject part of the scoring, it is important these expert panels don't hide under anonymity, and offer some sort of literal appraisal beyond a numeric score to justify why they mark and ranked the skaters in such a way ON THE DAY (this is how all judges mark art competitions). The key must be emphasized ON what they did ON THE DAY regardless of who they are, whatever federation they come from, whether they are Olympic Champions or some 16 years old newbies who made their senior debut. It should be purely about the work ON THE DAY. Of course this would be difficult to achieve this without the right expertise that can put themselves on the line to scrutinize the performance (and being scrutinized by the public in turn). That they must have good level of artistic credibility, experience and training, as well passing strict and rigorous exams marked by peers. But that is why judges are valued and they should be qualified, because their decisions need to be able to stand up to scrutiny with valid reasons to make the overall PCS scoring fairer, accurate and more immediate than the current trend of narrow corridor marking based on reputations/federations/politics/personal favoritism. So eventually you get specialist judges for different categories, TES, PCS, and Technical Judging.

Otherwise those with reputation and did well in their last season will able to put up whatever crap the to take it easy for a while early in the season. Likely take advantage of latency effect and work on momentum building. ie/ Start the season using a easier layout build up consistency while still benefiting from the high PCS from last competition. Steadily upgrade their program throughout the season, so their PCS increase by 0.5 - 1 every competition. By finale, they will attempt the highest risk elements with the crazy buffer of their PCS (based on easier programs) will still be high or +/-0.5 at most. I realize that is what skating fans have gotten used to and expect, but it is hardly the most accurate or the best it could be, is it?